


Worth More Than Gold

by blackkat



Series: Tumblr Drabbles [4]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pirates, Flirting, Flirting over dead bodies, M/M, Pirate Captain!Orochimaru really needs to be more of a thing, Rescue, only not
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-28
Updated: 2016-12-28
Packaged: 2018-09-12 20:19:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9089239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackkat/pseuds/blackkat
Summary: For the prompt "I just captured the ship you’re on and I'm about to kill everyone on it, but you’re cute, I’ll keep you"





	

Sakumo is going to die like this, and he never even wanted to be here.

Grunting, he slams his shoulder against the hatch, trying to force it open, but he’s seen it from the other side. It’s four inches of solid wood with sturdy hinges, and he’ll break himself before he breaks the door.

“Damn it,” he mutters, staggering back.

There’s a deafening explosion, a sickening lurch, and the very dire sound of wood splintering. Sakumo has been a sailor all his life; he knows without having to look that that was not something they can patch until they reach the next port

“We need a way to get out,” he says grimly.

Seated near the back of the cramped brig, a boy lets out a small snort.

Confused by the levity when their ship is being attacked by _pirates_ , Sakumo turns and frowns. “Something you’d like to share?” he asks mildly. “I’m sure we could all use a moment of levity right now.”

The boy, who can’t be all that much younger than his own son, smiles a little slyly, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. “You’re the only one who didn’t _volunteer_ ,” he observes instead of answering, and the way the light reflects off his glasses makes it impossible to see his eyes. “All the others from you ship—they all enlisted for the bonuses after they were taken. But you didn’t.”

Sakumo sighs. Casting one last glance at the unmoving door, he steps away, sitting down and letting his head fall back against the wall. “I signed on with a merchant ship, not a warship,” he says simply. “Maybe they were convinced by the money, but all I want is to get back to my son.”

The boy studies him for a moment, and if Sakumo doesn’t look too closely he could almost _be_ Kakashi, with his grey hair and dark eyes. “Hmm,” is the only response that gets. His head turns faintly, eyes focusing on the door again, and Sakumo looks as well, listening carefully. The shouts and screams from the deck are tapering off, and Sakumo knows that they’re going to be next. There’s a definite tilt to the floor, and he’d bet the ship is taking on water already.

Even if the pirates don’t kill them, there’s no way out of this, Sakumo thinks.

And then someone starts pounding on the door.

“Heeeey, Creepy, are you in there?” a girl calls, bright and cheerful and mocking. “Don’t tell me they threw you overboard _already_ , it’s only been two weeks!”

A smile flashes across the boy’s face, bright and relieved, though it’s buried a moment later. “Just open the door, Anko. Do you think you’ll be able to work the lock? I know it’s rather above your skill level.”

_What_?

Ignoring Sakumo’s bewilderment, the boy pushes to his feet. There’s a huff from outside, a rattle, and then a triumphant sound. The door swings open, and a pretty teenage girl with violet hair bounces in. She has a bloody cutlass in one hand and several pistols in a bandolier slung across her chest, and when she throws herself at the boy he winces, though he pats her back with a fond roll of his eyes.

“Hi, Kabuto!” she says, past cheerful and almost into ‘perky’. “We’re here to rescue you!”

“The captain came himself?” Kabuto asks, something like awe in his voice as he peels her off of him and steps around her, heading out the door.

“Of course he did!” Anko sounds entirely offended on their captain’s behalf, though she doesn’t move to follow the boy. Instead, she eyes Sakumo with a vicious smile, lifting her cutlass. “So, what are you in for?” she asks brightly, tapping the blade against the center of his chest. “If it’s for beating up my little brother, I’m not going to be happy with you, you know.”

It’s not an empty threat, Sakumo realizes with some surprise. He’s seen eyes like hers in hardened soldiers, and though he could conceivably lunge and grab her sword, the way she has one hand on the pistol at her hip tells him it’s a bad idea.

“They caught me deserting,” he says in explanation, and doesn’t move, watching her carefully.

Anko seems to take his caution as a compliment, and her smile brightens. “Thought they hanged deserters,” she says thoughtfully, though her gaze doesn’t waver.

“Not if you’ve been impressed into the service of this glorious navy,” Sakumo says, as dry as dust.

With a bubbly laugh, Anko slips her pistol away, then grabs him by the arm and tugs insistently. Rather than force her to drag him up when he outweighs her by at least twice over, Sakumo rises obediently, and allows himself to be steered out of the brig, up the stairs, and onto the main deck.

It’s a bloodbath. There are bodies littering the deck, some of them Sakumo’s former crew, some of them the crew that had originally raided the merchant ship. The pirate crew is easily distinguishable, a mix of men and women wearing clothes that definitely aren’t uniform regulation and scattered with conspicuous bits of gold and gems, all of them armed to the teeth. Kabuto is near the center of the deck, near the almost unrecognizable body of the former captain, but before Sakumo can turn his gaze to the person he’s with, Anko kicks him in the back of the knees and makes him trip, landing hard on the blood-splattered deck as she forces his head down.

“Captain!” she calls cheerfully. “How about this one?”

There’s a pause, and then the thump of steps across the wood. Tall black boots come into Sakumo’s view, but with Anko’s grip on his hair he can’t see anything else.

“Anko, what did I tell you about playing with your food?” a man asks,  languidly amused.

The girl laughs, a wicked edge to it. “Sorry, Captain. But this one’s a pressed man, and he was in the brig for deserting.”

There’s a thoughtful sound, and the boots turn away for a moment. “Kabuto?”

“It’s true, Captain,” he says immediately. “Sakumo Hatake, formerly aboard a merchant vessel. They caught him trying to steal a lifeboat two days ago.”

A quiet hum, and the man says, “Let him go, Anko.”

The grip on Sakumo’s hair eases, and he immediately looks up, though he can’t quite stop the sweep of his eyes as he does. Lean legs in dark brown breeches, a lacy white shirt partway unbuttoned, a trim waist wrapped with a red sash. Gold at wrists and ears, the latter almost hidden by a fall of midnight hair that frames golden eyes, just shadowed by the brim of a wide hat sporting a spray of red-gold feathers.

Sakumo is having a hard time catching his breath, and he used to be a mercenary; it’s not because of the smell of blood in the air.

Long, cool fingers cup his chin, tilting his face up so he meets that sharp gaze, and the pirate captain smiles. “You’re a handsome one,” he says admiringly, and Sakumo has to laugh despite the situation.

“I could say the same about you,” he returns.

Surprise and then pleasure flicker over the captain’s face, and he offers Sakumo a hand. “Tell me, sailor, if I let you go right now, what would you do?”

Sakumo rises to his feet, weighing a truthful answer against what the man most likely wants to hear. But…Sakumo has never been one for helpful lies.

“I’d try my damndest to get back to Konoha,” he says, meeting the captain’s gaze. “To get back to my son.”

To his surprise, the beautiful man doesn’t laugh. He simply nods, sliding his heavy sword away, and turns in a whirl of dark hair. “Anko, check their supplies and take anything that’s still useable. Kabuto, medical supplies. Tsunade wished us to find more if possible. Kimimaro, Juugo, the captain’s cabin—take anything valuable. Karin, maps and charts. Tayuya, Kidomaru, Sakon, Ukon, check for survivors. Leave _none_.”

There’s a low murmur of “Aye, Captain Orochimaru,” as the crew separates. Only Anko pauses, bobbing by Orochimaru’s elbow.

“What about this one?” she asks curiously, eyes on Sakumo.

Sakumo would rather like to know that too.

With a low chuckle, Orochimaru offers Sakumo his hand. “We already have plans to meet Jiraiya and Tsunade in Konoha,” he says. “I don’t see why Mister Hatake can’t find some way to earn his passage back to port with us.”

It takes effort not to grin. Taking the offered hand, Sakumo bows over it, pressing his lips to callused knuckles, and hears Orochimaru draw in a sharp breath. “I’ll work _very_ hard,” he promises, casting a smile full of intent up at the man.

Orochimaru’s expression is lazy with heat, his eyes fixed on Sakumo’s. “I have no doubts as to your skill,” he returns, and that smirk is a definite promise that Sakumo will be put to work very soon.

Sakumo can’t wait.

 


End file.
